Category: Books

It has been a long time since a book has put its barbs in me and I wasn’t able to let go. I started this book on a Thursday night, and forced myself to put it down because I had to go to work on Friday. I was about a quarter of the way into it at that point. Friday I went to work, then did errands, then went out to eat with a friend. I didn’t let myself pick the book back up until I had no other obligations that night. Then I finished the book by about 2 am. I had a couple of breaks in there, but it was a straight read through for the most part.

I have missed being into a book this much. I laughed out loud at parts, and almost cried at others. Cassie is a great character and her story was very well told. Her struggles are almost universal for all women, and that made it very easy to identify with her. She’s a very real character, her struggles are normal issues that most people will be able to identify with.

The side story involving Daemon, Jaenelle, and Saetan was okay, but kind of superfluous. It didn’t really relate to Cassie’s story at all and felt like a rehashing of the conflicts Daemon and Jaenelle usually have. It wasn’t bad, but I was much more interested in Cassie’s story, and felt myself wanting the other pieces to quickly pass by.

There is a sequel to this story already in the works and I can’t wait to read it. I think it’s going to have a new main character, but still deal with the characters from this story. I just have to wait another year.

I just finished reading The Crown Conspiracy, and I have to say it was an excellent read. It is a fantasy book, set in a time of kings, knights, and a hint of magic. The story revolves around two thieves and we follow them throughout the book.

The story is character driven, with a good plot to back up the characters. Overall I’d say it was an easy read, there’s plenty of action and good dialogue, without a lot of politics between the characters. If you like fantasy books, and a good action story to go with it, I’d highly recommend this. The fantasy isn’t in your face, rather it’s subtly worked in.

There is a second book out now, which is not exactly a sequel, but more of another adventure with some of the same characters set in the same world. I’m looking forward to reading it.

I just finished reading Last Watch, which is the fourth and final book in the series. They must be redoing the covers, they don’t match the ones I actually read.

Anyhow, I picked up this series because it’s one of my boyfriend’s favorite series of books. Each book is comprised of three short stories, all of which tie together in some way. They’re pretty easy reads, and having each book separated into three parts allows the reading to go a bit quicker too. The books follow a main set of characters throughout all the stories, sometimes focusing on different characters.

I highly recommend these if you enjoy fantasy, especially if you like it mixed in with a more modern setting. The stories take place mostly in Russia, as these are by a Russian author. They are very well written, and while some things may not quite make sense (like a reference to a particular type of Russian food or drink, or a phrase, etc.) it doesn’t detract from the story.

There are a group of people, known as Others, who live among humans but have powers. Some are wizards, some are vampires, some are werewolves, there are all kinds of magical entities. And they’re split into two basic factions that fight back and forth, trying to tip the scale in their favor.

I enjoyed them immensely. Thank you Dan, for getting me to read them. *grin*

I wonder if he’s written anything else that’s been translated? Hmmm….*runs off to search through Amazon*

Shadowbridge is a book that I happened to find by just browsing the bookstore. Upon entering the bookstore a beeline is made for the Sci-fi and Fantasy section. And more often than not at least one book is found that comes home with me. The latest one was Shadowbridge.

It’s a story about stories. Which I found to be an interesting way for the book to be written. Each sub story seems to connect with the main character in some way, and they will draw you in of their own accord.

One of the sub stories is rather large, but does fit into the overall arc of the book. Unfortunately though the main character is not really involved in this sub story that sets up another character of the novel. This did annoy me somewhat because I was so invested in Leodora that I didn’t want to branch off of her story quite that far. Once the sub story ended it was brought around full circle and was then understandable as to why it had been included. The character that story set up, Diverus, became a central character to the story.

There is a sequel called Lord Tophet that I will be buying next time I go to the book store. It will continue Leodora’s story, which is good because Shadowbridge almost ended without an ending. It’s a story that definitely isn’t over yet. I’m looking forward to reading Lord Tophet and learning the rest of Leodora’s story.